Take Away the Timeline: Part 2

If you’re just tuning in to The Relatable Red, there is a “Take Away the Timeline” Part 1. It’s all about taking away the timeline you imagined for your life when you were a kid. If you haven’t read it, take a second and go read that one first and then come back here! Take Away the Timeline Part 2 is for all of you striving for growth –whether it’s personal growth, professional goals, health and fitness, etc. As you might imagine, this blog post is about me (and a little Queen Rach) letting you off the hook for the timeline it takes to achieve your goals!

I have never been a dreamer. Up until The Relatable Red, my biggest dreams included being a happy wife and mom someday. I want to be extremely clear when I say that those dreams are perfectly okay. In fact, they’re still very true for me. That being said, I was never the kid that knew they always wanted to be a teacher or doctor. I never had that clear calling. 

I love instant gratification. And beyond that, I often feel like I need to know that what I’m putting effort in to will succeed. I’ve always feared failure and the potential for wasting my time. So instead of allowing myself to dream, I would shut down any ideas as impossible or “not what I really want.”

I have big intimidating dreams for the future of The Relatable Red. But I didn’t let myself dream those scary dreams until I came across this little piece of wisdom I learned from Rachel Hollis. Honestly, I can’t remember specifically which book it’s in (or if she said it in a live stream.) Regardless, it truly resonated with me and I feel like it’s my duty to share it in case it speaks to you too. 

Everyone says that when you set a goal it has to have a time limit. Rachel says that’s crap –much more eloquently than that, but you know what I mean. I’m sure removing the timeline goes against everything you’ve probably ever learned about setting goals…. me too, but stick with me. What if Rachel had said, “I have to be a NY times best seller by my 2^ndbook?” or “My business or podcast has to be a huge success within a year?” 

She wouldn’t have achieved ALL of the amazing things she has if she would have set a time limit on success. If she had said she had to be a successful entrepreneur in 5 years or she was giving up (or worse, not even trying) I would have never even heard of her, let alone read any of her books. This goes for every successful person you know or look up to. 

When I applied this concept to the most outrageous dream I had, being an impactful and successful blogger, it allowed me to pursue it. It let me off the hook. I no longer felt the pressure to achieve this big scary dream of mine in a year or even 5 years to prove that I wasn’t wasting my time. Not having a concrete timeline for success has allowed me to enjoy the journey because that’s the whole point anyway, isn’t it? Sure, I want to be successful. But what I really want and dream about is writing blogs that are so genuinely authentic that you can’t help but feel like my best friend. 

This perspective allowed me to take the leap and create a blog. But now, I have to reaffirm it every day: “I don’t let fear of failure make my decisions.” I have to remind myself constantly about Rachel Hollis and how long it took her to be “successful.” As long as I am always working and putting in effort towards the goal, then I don’t need to put a timeline on success.  

Whew! Now that you know all of my scary blogging dreams… let’s move right along shall we?

Let’s say your goal is fitness related. You want to lose 20 lbs. in 6 months. Take away the timeline! If you get to the 5-month mark and you’ve only lost 10, you’re going to be discouraged at best and give up at worst. When I was finally able to work out and eat healthy consistently, it was because I decided it didn’t matter how long it took to achieve it, I was going to do it damnit. 

Just like blogging (or dreaming any big dreams), fitness is a lifestyle. Not a means to an end. Let’s say you do lose those 20lbs in 6 months, are going to quit? No of course not. You’re going to adjust your goals and keep on growing.

Take away the timeline for achieving your goals and let yourself off the hook.

Starting a business? A blog? Getting healthy? Waking up early every day? Don’t say you must succeed at this thing in X amount of time. When you make the inevitable mistakes or fall off the wagon, just keep going. Success in anything is not linear. You may get a slow start and then make huge gains and then maybe level off. It may take a year or 10 but that’s the journey. That’s where you learn. How quickly you achieve goals does not define you. 

Start enjoying the process and celebrate the growth along the way.

-The Relatable Red